A series of concrete structures transforms an abandoned iron ore mine into an attractive cultural area.

Photo: János László

Photo: Klára Lovas

When we speak about Monkey Island, not many people will think about an island in Europe, and even less about one in Central Europe. However, in the north-east region of Hungary, not far from the Slovakian border, a former iron ore mine is named after an ape-like creature that lived here some ten million years before. More than half a century ago, in 1965, a geologist found a fragment of a jawbone from the Miocene epoch in the iron ore mine of Rudabánya. The newly discovered hominid, Rudapithecus hungaricus, was partly named after the village.

For centuries, iron ore provided work and prosperity in this relatively remote region. But since the closure of the mine in the mid-1980’s, the area’s economy declined rapidly. Over time the pit filled with water, and today is one of the deepest bodies of standing water in Hungary, with a depth of around 80 meters, and is used by both amateur and professional divers.

The complete article is published in Summer issue of Piranesi No. 38, Summer 2016, Vol. 24.